Is Internal Audit a Bane to AI? MVP, Gokongwei Audit Forum Says No

As more organizations ramp up the adoption of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies at scale, it is critical for internal audit measures to help ensure that these systems continue to work as intended without doing harm.

“No team, no matter how good it is, can see the whole system and its unintended consequences while they are building it. That’s where internal audit comes in. It is not a barrier to innovation, but a way of helping organizations see what the system is actually doing,” said Dr Erika Legara, Director and Chief Data Officer of the Philippine Center for AI Research, speaking before executives from the MVP Group and Gokongwei Group of Companies in a recent forum organized to mark International Internal Audit Awareness Month.

Legara, however, also acknowledged that this is not how many executives perceive internal audit. “When they hear the word ‘audit’, the feeling is not enthusiasm, but something between inconvenience and dread. However, I have come to think that this reaction itself is a risk signal,” she warns. “When an organization treats scrutiny as something to avoid, it often means speed has somehow become more important than accuracy. That maybe we’re treating the cost of scrutiny as higher than the cost of being wrong.”

“At scale, the most valuable partner is one who tells you what you're missing,” she added.

Trust is the foundation of companies.

Spearheaded by the Internal Audit Group of PLDT Inc and its wireless arm Smart Communications, Inc (Smart), in collaboration with MVP Group and JG Summit Holdings Internal Audit teams, the event also featured a panel discussion with Legara, David Gulliver Go, Chief Human Resources Officer of JG Summit and Director of Cebu Air, and Francis Flores, Global Managing Director of Pickup Coffee.

"Today, businesses operate in a complex environment where rapid change is raising the demands on how we grow, innovate, serve customers, and act with speed. At the same time, we also face stricter regulations, heightened scrutiny, global issues affecting supply chains and costs, and rapid technological changes, including AI and data-driven transformation," said Gina B. Santos, FVP and PLDT Group Internal Audit Head, in her opening remarks for the program, which is now on its fourth year.

"The question before us is not simply, how do we act? The real question is: how do we act with speed, sound judgment, and a clear focus on measurable impact? This is the heart of our theme Today: Igniting Action, Advancing Impact, because action alone is not enough. It must lead to outcomes that matter: Stronger businesses, resilient operations, better decisions, and greater value for the people we serve," she added.

The session, which drew around 1,500 online attendees across MVP and Gokongwei groups and around 200 attendees onsite, was moderated by Gian Lao of PLDT and Smart’s Public Engagement and Corporate Communications Group.

PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, in a recorded message at the start of the program, underscored the importance of trust in business. “Our companies run on trust: The trust of our shareholders, boards, stakeholders, and customers, whose patronage and business we depend on. We must earn this trust every day through the quality of our products and services, integrity of our processes, and most importantly, the moral strength of the people who audit us,” he said.

Former Chief Justice and PLDT director Artemio Panganiban, on the other hand, highlighted the role of internal auditors in driving meaningful action in a rapidly evolving environment marked by technological disruption, cybersecurity challenges, and geopolitical shifts. "Success Today depends on our ability to turn insight into timely decisions and meaningful outcomes, not by reacting late but by acting early and with purpose. This is where internal audit delivers its greatest value, not only as a provider of independent assurance but as a catalyst for action."

In his closing remarks, PLDT Chief Operating Officer Menardo “Butch” Jimenez Jr. reminded the audience that while artificial intelligence can do a lot of tasks, there are some things that are beyond its reach: Accountability, integrity and instinct.

“Only humans can be accountable,” said Jimenez, adding that AI is also incapable of integrity. “It will do what you ask it to do. It has no morality.”

Jimenez also pointed to the role that experience plays in decision-making. “For us who have been working in certain industries for a long time, sometimes we make decisions based on the wealth of knowledge that we have. That's called instinct. I don't think AI has instinct.”

Growth with speed and excellence

During the panel discussion, speakers shared practical perspectives on balancing speed, innovation, and risk management. Go discussed how large, diversified organizations take a measured and disciplined approach to AI adoption to ensure that AI enhances, rather than compromises, employee experience, data integrity, and cybersecurity: “We're approaching AI carefully. We don't just say, let's just put everything there. We go first to the actual employees using the system, and have an internal audit check the possible loopholes and leakages that may happen when we use AI in it.”

Flores, on the other hand, provided a start-up perspective, noting that for fast-growing organizations like Pickup Coffee, mastering business fundamentals and building strong internal systems must precede advanced AI adoption: “Internal systems act as your guardrails so you can continue to grow not just with speed but with excellence.”

Looking forward to the next decade, Legara said the main challenge will be for audit teams to be not just technically fluent, especially about emerging technologies, but self-aware as well. “The audit function that will matter in the next decade is one with enough technical fluency to ask the right questions about these technologies. They should have enough knowledge to ask the right questions and enough humility to bring in the right people to help them when they reach the limits of what they know. That is the future of audit.”

PLDT Group's support for International IA Awareness Month is aligned with the company's long-standing commitment to delivering an elevated customer experience, boosted by operational excellence.